Argument 71[Jet小组]第六次作业

x6xUID: 2180130

Argument 71.Copper occurs in nature mixed with other minerals and valuable metals in ore, and the proportion of copper in the ore can vary considerably. Until fairly recently, the only way to extract pure copper from ore was by using a process that requires large amounts of electric energy, especially if the proportion of copper in the ore is low. New copper-extracting technologies can use up to 40 percent less electricity than the older method to process the same amount of raw ore, especially when the proportion of copper in the ore is high. Therefore, we can expect the amount of electricity used by the copper-extraction industry to decline significantly.

WORDS:451    TIME:40min    DATE:14/02/2008



The author asserts that the amount of electricity will decline significantly because of the use if new technology. At the first glance, this opinion seems to be somewhat convincing, but further reflection tells me that the author indeed is overly positive and I cannot agree with it for the following reasons.


To begin with, the author's acclaim misses evidence - new technologies to extract from ore can save more electric energy especially when the proportion of copper in the ore is high. However, facts when the proportion is low or middle is not available for us. Suppose that the new technology cost 50 percent more electricity when it is low, and in the future, it will remains low for a long period. As a result, if new method is taken into actions, the total amount of electricity will increase, instead of decreasing.


In addition, the drop the amount of electricity depends on the the new technology, which will not surely be used widely. Regardless of the problem discussed above, we still cannot safely accept the assertion, which is based on an assumption that companies and factories will put that new technology into practice. Actually, the author has provided nothing about it. In our daily lives, we, without deep considering, can easily find out that many good new technologies are neglected and even threw away. Technology is often proved to be effective in laboratories, however, there are a lot of factors determining whether it will be used in industries or not, such as whether it is practical or easy to operate, whether it will result in other problems, and even whether it satisfies the authorities' benefits and requirements, and so on. Therefore, since the author is ignorant of this key pint, the acclaim is not persuasive.


What's more. the author, used the word "significantly" in his assertion seems easily to get a hasty conclusion. As discussed above, many evidence has been missed, hence, the author should conclude more prudently. Even if the the two problems are solved with strong evidences, the author should still consider that there could be another innovative technologies invented for the extracting process by using more electric energy. If it beats the technology mentioned in the origin text or has more predominance in the competition, the final tendency of electricity amount will still be uncertain.


In sum, this argument is not convincing as it stands. To make it logically acceptable, the author would have to show that the proportion of copper in the ore will be high in the near future. Additionally, the author must provide evidence of widely acceptance of the new technology. Only with more convincing evidence could this argument become more than an emotional appeal.

yimengshanUID: 2392100

没找出什么大问题，已经很好了。。。